I really don't follow this stuff very closely, and what's going on here is one reason why. Karen Traviss has been writing novels in the Star Wars universe centered around some characters that are clone soldiers and a handful of Mandalorians, either referencing or creating a lot of stuff concerning the previously established warrior culture of the Mandalorians. I've read a few of these, because they've crossed over nicely into the sub-genre of military sci-fi that I've recently found myself enjoying, and because I do still like the Star Wars universe, despite the fact that it is often so shoddily and inconsistently constructed. So, I've got two or three of the Republic Commando novels on my bookshelf, and I'll probably pick up the couple of novels following those characters at some point.

Traviss has decided not to write this last book because, among other reasons, the Mandalorians are being retconned into pacifists during the movie time period, which presents certain existential difficulties for many of her key characters.

Uff da.

[Addendum: I fired this off without putting a complete title on it, so I corrected the title.]
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I seem to collect things.0 Fountain pens, action figures, maybe guns1. Action figures, especially, have eaten up an inordinate amount of my income in the last two years.2

Anyway, I am reminded, every once in a while, that I really am not the biggest dork3 around. Behold!

Now, I gotta figure that's an advertising prop, and not something that was manufactured for sale to people not running toy stores or whatever.4 However! I know that an individual of my acquaintance has access to a similarly tall figure of Voltron. Furthermore, in addition to representing competing giant robot toy and cartoon franchises, Optimus and Voltron represent different soft drinks! Voltron declared a strategic alliance with Sprite some time back, and Optimus sold out to Pepsi. Battle to the death, winner takes all.

Personally, though, I'll probably just stick with Coca-Cola.

Footnotes0. It might be better said that I accumulate, rather than collect, things.
1. Or maybe not: I have only two, and a fairly short list of ones I actually want badly enough to purchase. I mean, a PS90 would be pretty cool and all, but that 5.7mm ammunition is expensive, and impractical as a defensive munition. On the other hand, a nice AK-47 with a Dragunov stock ....
2. I won't say how much. More than you'd probably believe, though.
3. So, you have a pride of lions, a mob of kangaroos, a murder of crows, a school of fish, etc. What's a collective noun for a group of dorks/nerds/geeks? Is it a convention?
4. In fact, I figure that this Optimus statue is a feather headdress and a handful of stogies away from being a cigar-store Indian.
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